Thursday, July 31, 2008

It was a cold, dark, stormy night. The storm had come quicklyand each time the thunder boomed he watched her jump.

She looked across the room and admired his strong appearance...andwished that he would take her in his arms, comfort her and protect her from the storm. Suddenly, with a pop, the power went out... She screamed... He raced to the sofa where she was cowering.

He didn'thesitate to pull her into his arms. He knew this was a forbidden union and expected her to pull back.He was surprised when she didn't resist but instead clung to him. The storm raged on...

They knew it was wrong...

Their families would never understand... So consumed werethey in theirFEARthat they heard no openingof doors

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Paul McCartney dazzles Quebec City as huge spectacle goes off without a hitch

14 hours ago

QUEBEC — With fans screaming for more and morning-after newspaper headlines trumpeting a conquest, Paul McCartney's concert left a mark on the Plains of Abraham.

Quebec City was still spinning with excitement Monday, hours after the former Beatle dazzled the provincial capital for its 400th birthday bash. The legendary rock star lured an estimated 200,000 people to the party Sunday evening.

"Merci beaucoup toute le gang," McCartney told the enthused masses in Quebecois French shortly before kicking off the final songs of the show.

"Merci toute le gang, man."

A youthful, energized McCartney performed 36 solo, Wings and Beatles tunes for two-and-a-half hours for the adoring crowd.

His only breather came before the five-song encore.

Quebec City singer Pascale Picard and Montreal band The Stills opened the show.

After the concert, the father of The Stills' frontman Tim Fletcher, said it was amazing to see his son up there.

"It was a mind-blower for them - for us, we're just thunderstruck," David Fletcher said.

"Playing for McCartney, a legend . . . is just extraordinary. We're so thrilled for him."

Fletcher had VIP tickets and found a spot right in front of the stage.

"I guess I can die happy now, I've seen McCartney live in front of a crowd like that," he said.

"The reception that he got, it was great to be part of that whole feeling.

"He's 66 years old and he was out there performing like a 20-year-old."

The colossal birthday party attracted fans of all ages, many of whom travelled to the city from abroad.

"He was an idol from my youth, like so many people," Renald Letourneau said of Sir Paul.

"He's an extraordinary man. We had to see him once in our life. We weren't going to wait for him to come back, we weren't going to take a chance."

Quebec City native Deborah Lambert said she's been listening to McCartney since 1963, when he was one of the Fab Four.

"I remember the sisters at the convent telling me, 'You know, if you knew your homework like you knew the songs of the Beatles, you'd be doing very well'," Lambert said.

"I was learning Beatles songs before homework."

Organizers and security officials anticipated the huge numbers for the free outdoor concert.

But fears of unrest in the crowds never materialized, local police said.

Police reported only six arrests, each for minor infractions.

"Everything went smoothly, people were disciplined, people were cool, people were very 'peace and love'," said Daniel Gelinas, lead organizer for Quebec City's year-long anniversary festivities.

"McCartney's team was taken with the event and thrilled with how everything went."

Gelinas said people will probably remember the concert for years to come.

"We wanted to make sure people have memories that would be engraved in their minds forever," he said.

Last week, several Quebec nationalists were questioning the British knight's participation in the celebrations.

They claimed his presence evokes painful memories of Britain's conquest of New France in 1760.

The Plains of Abraham was the site of the key 1759 battle between British Gen. James Wolfe and France's Marquis Louis-Joseph de Montcalm.

But McCartney brushed off his critics by telling them to "smoke the pipes of peace."

On Sunday, he displayed his affection for La Belle Province by waving a fleur-de-lis flag and sporting a souvenir Quebec sweatshirt on stage.

"C'est ma premiere visite a Quebec," he shouted to the crowd during the show.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Racing through life is very stressful. If we stay in high gear too long, we lose our ability to shift down. And when we're stressed, we can't access happiness, appreciation, fun, compassion, generosity, awareness of beauty and other wonderful qualities. High stress also triggers negative emotions like frustration, impatience, anger and fear.

Life has so much to offer if we will slow down and truly experience it. We must always remember that we are the ones in control of the accelerator. We CAN choose to brake.

"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast -- you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."

Friday, July 11, 2008

Do hybrids now make dollars and sense?

As gas costs soar, owners of gas-electric vehicles are able to recoup their extra cost

Gerry MalloyToronto Star

Jul 11, 2008

A couple years ago, Consumer Reports magazine conducted a study of the potential cost savings that could be realized by a number of hybrid vehicles then on the market, and compared those figures to the extra cost of the hybrid.

The conclusion: for the most part, payback on the extra premium for hybrids was several years away after purchase, if ever.

But that was then and this is now.

The price of some hybrids has come down; more hybrids are now available, in some cases at lower prices; additional purchase incentives are available in many areas; and perhaps most significantly, the price of gasoline has increased more than 50 per cent.

As a result, according to a recent study by the British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA), several hybrids not only make sense, they make dollars and cents.

The auto club compared hybrid and regular gasoline model pairs. Studying the costs for all 13 hybrids available in B.C. over a five-year period, and factoring in fuel costs, that province's alternative fuel rebate program and the federal ecoAUTO Rebate Program, the analysis showed that in seven of the 13 vehicle pairs analyzed, the hybrids turned out to be cheaper overall over five years.

But there are differences between B.C. and Ontario, in terms of taxes and rebates, for example.

So we crunched the numbers in an Ontario context and came up with slightly different results.

(We also calculated fuel consumption on the basis of 55 per cent city/45 per cent highway driving, which is standard industry practice, rather than the 50/50 split BCAA used. We priced gasoline at $1.30/L, rather than $1.40.)

As in the B.C. case, seven of the 13 hybrid models showed a payback on total investment over the five-year period.

It's not there, primarily because there is no non-Hybrid Prius to compare it too. The BCAA compared it to a Toyota Matrix, presumably because both are hatchbacks, but there is a $6,000 price spread between the two (even with Prius's recent $1,000 price cut), and that difference was just too much to overcome (although at $1.40 a litre gasoline, it would do so).

We, instead, compared it with a four-cylinder Camry, to which it is closer in interior size and function, although better equipped. In that case, it did show a payback – of $5,103!

That situation highlighted an important point when shopping for a hybrid. How much you can potentially save depends on what vehicle you compare it with.

In many cases, the hybrid packages come with a lot of features and equipment you may not want or need. In that case, even though the fuel consumption may not be as good with a lower-priced and less well-equipped model, you may ultimately save more by buying it and taking the savings up front.

By so doing, you may also be able to leverage those savings by financing a lower amount. For our calculations, to match the BCAA example, we assumed a 20 per cent down-payment with the rest financed at 9 per cent interest.

While there aren't many financing incentives out there on hybrids, you may be able to do much better than that on otherwise comparable models. And financing charges can make up a significant portion of your five-year costs.

The flip side of the analysis is that other hybrids – primarily higher-priced models with significant price premiums – did not.

As Trace Acres, BCAA's director of corporate communications and government affairs, writes on the association's website, "The price premium charged to own some higher-end hybrids won't be recovered regardless of the price of gas."

That said, consumers should be cautioned not to look at costs as the only determining factor in choosing a hybrid, Acres points out.

"We know from surveys that hybrid buyers are more likely to do so for environmental reasons than cost concerns," he writes.

In that case, buyers should also consider emission ratings as well as sticker prices. All hybrids are not created equal when it comes to emissions reductions.

Indeed, some hybrids are certified only to the same level of emissions certification (for smog-forming pollutants) as their non-hybrid counterparts, offering no significant improvement in that regard.

Unlike CO2 (a greenhouse gas), which is emitted in proportion to fuel consumed, smog-forming emissions are not directly dependent on the amount of fuel used.

One final point: A significant portion of the money saved with some of the vehicles in this analysis (up to $2,000) comes from the rebate provided via the the federal ecoAUTO Rebate Program, which is being phased out at the end of this model year.

So if you are considering a hybrid, this may be the time to buy.

Applications for the rebate on eligible vehicles can be submitted until March 31, 2009; but the rebate applies only to new vehicle purchases and 2009 model-year vehicles will not be eligible.

More details of the BCAA study can be found online at BCAA.com/Hybrids.

Getting the real deal on going green

BCAA crunches the numbers on buying and operating hybrid vehicles

(Burnaby): B.C. is a hotbed for gas-electric hybrid vehicle sales – one-quarter of all hybrids sold in Canada are sold here. And with surging gas prices and concerns about global warming, the hype around hybrids is expected to intensify. Still, questions remain about whether gas savings in a hybrid are enough to offset its higher sticker price. How much “green” will you save by “going green” in a hybrid – if any?

BCAA compared the purchase, financing and operating costs of all 13 hybrids available in B.C. with comparable conventional models over a five year period. A number of variables were incorporated: fuel costs, the provincial Alternative Fuel Vehicle Tax Concession and the federal ecoAUTO Rebate Program. With these factors in play, the analysis revealed that, in seven of the 13 vehicle pairs analyzed, the hybrid option worked out to be cheaper over five years.

Some models were thousands of dollars less expensive, including:

Honda Civic Hybrid ($3,868)

Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV ($2,765)

Toyota Camry Hybrid ($2,135)

Lexus 400h Hybrid SUV ($1,816)

“What this analysis shows is, at current gas prices, most hybrids will end up being either less expensive over five years or within a few hundred dollars of their conventional equivalent,” says Trace Acres, BCAA’s director of corporate communications and government affairs. “On the other hand, the price premium charged to own some higher-end hybrids won’t be recovered regardless of the price of gas.”

Consumers are cautioned, however, that price shouldn’t be the only determining factor in choosing a hybrid. “We know from surveys that hybrid buyers are more likely to do so for environmental reasons than cost concerns,” adds Acres. “If that is the case, potential hybrid buyers should be sure to examine emission ratings as well as sticker prices. Some models may appear cost-effective, but offer only modest emission reductions.”

When BCAA completed its first five-year hybrid cost analysis in 2005, most of the hybrids were more expensive than their conventional counterparts – as much as 25 per cent. Today, this picture has reversed, in large part due to skyrocketing gas prices and government incentives such as the federal ecoAUTO Rebate Program and the provincial Alternative Fuel Vehicle Tax Concession.

“If you’re interested in buying a hybrid and maximizing your savings, 2008 may be the best year to buy,” advises Acres, “The federal ecoAUTO Rebate Program is being phased out at the end of this year, cutting the cost savings on some hybrids by as much as $2,000.”

Applications for the federal ecoAUTO Rebate Program on eligible hybrid vehicles can be submitted until March 31, 2009. The rebate applies only to new vehicle purchases, and 2009 vehicles will not be eligible. The provincial Alternative Fuel Vehicle Tax Concession is scheduled to be in place until April 1, 2011.

About BCAABCAA is dedicated to meeting the needs of its members and customers throughout B.C. and the Yukon, connecting them with a team of membership, automotive, travel and insurance professionals. With over 780,000 members and $120 million in revenues, BCAA is the largest organization of its kind in B.C. and the fourth largest CAA-affiliated association in Canada. In 2007 and 2008, BCAA was named one the 50 Best Employers in Canada by international HR consultants Hewitt Associates and the Globe & Mail’s Report on Business magazine. To learn more about BCAA’s products, services and member advocacy, visit www.bcaa.com. For more information on the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation visit www.tsf-bcaa.com

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Don Marco was born in Northern Minnesotain the late 1920's. His interest in art was evident even before starting school. As a young adult in the Army Air Corp, he began his life's career in Air Traffic Control, which continued until his retirement from HonoluluInternationalAirport in 1973. Much of his spare time was spent as a professional artist. Before retirement, Don started developing a technique to create fine art, using Crayola Crayons. Shortly after retiring, he published his first print. Living in Southern California , his work was in demand, including commissions from Burt Reynolds and a one-man show at his Dinner Theater in Florida

Hard to imagine these are done with crayons!!!Burt ReynoldsTom Selleck

Saturday, July 5, 2008

You are about to gain a crucial insight into an issue that has left you befuddled, but not amused. Power is starting to shift your way. You will get all of what you need, spiritually and materially, to successfully overthrow an oppressive force.

TheStar.com - GTA - The real reason your beer costs more than it should

LUCAS OLENIUK/TORONTO STAR

Many buyers believe The Beer Store is provincially run, like the LCBO. The chain is actually owned by Ontario's largest brewers, Molson, Labatt and Sleeman, in turn part of large global groups. July 3, 2008

Monopoly boosts prices, limits choice, critics say

July 05, 2008

Dana FlavelleBusiness Reporter

Imagine a store where most of the products are kept in the back.

You order from the cashier. The products can't be sold below a legislated minimum price. And the overwhelming majority are made by one of three large companies, which also own the store.

In Ontario, that is how $2.5 billion worth of beer is sold each year.

Surprisingly, few consumers know this is the set-up.

On a sunny Friday afternoon, shoppers outside The Beer Store at Bayview and Eglinton were surprised to learn the government doesn't own the store. Some said they'd like to see beer sold in corner stores, for convenience, and said they hope competition would lead to lower prices.

"I'd like to see the price of beer go down," said Grant Skiffington, 57.

Six out of 10 people think The Beer Store is a government entity similar to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, according an independent survey for a review of the distribution and sale of alcohol in Ontario.

In reality, the retail chain responsible for just over 80 per cent of beer sales in Ontario "is essentially a private monopoly" owned by the province's three largest brewers, Labatt, Molson and Sleeman, the provincial study noted.

The brewers, in turn, belong to some of the highest-grossing beer makers in the world – Belgium's InBev SA, the United States' Molson Coors Brewing Co. and Japan's Sapporo.

Analysts estimate that these foreign entities earn a combined $1 billion a year in profits in Canada, mostly in Ontario, making the province one of the most lucrative beer markets in the world.

And Ontario's beer consumers pay the freight, with higher prices, less choice and lack of convenience, the Beverage Alcohol System Review concluded three years ago.

The review recommended opening beer sales to competition. But Ontario's government decided against sweeping changes.

So little has changed.

A 24-pack of popular brands, such as Coors Light, is regularly priced at $36.95 in Ontario, at least 25 per cent more than in such markets as Quebec and New York State, where beer is almost always on sale.

The brewers who own The Beer Store argue that taxes account for much of the difference in prices, and say the chain is one of the most efficient, environmentally friendly, socially responsible beer-marketing systems in the world.

Moreover, the brewers say they uphold the founding principles of what was originally a co-operative, ensuring access to all brewers and brands.

But many smaller brewers, restaurant operators and convenience store owners say that it's time the province took a closer look at how beer is sold in Ontario.

In 1927, at the close of Prohibition, Brewers Warehousing Co. Ltd. was founded as a brewers' co-operative.

The provincial government retained control of the sale of wine and spirits through the LCBO, but beer, with its lower alcohol content, could be distributed by the hundreds of mom-and-pop breweries.

Initially, the brewers were involved only in wholesale operations, jointly warehousing and distributing their product to stores operated by private contractors.

But in 1940, the brewers bought out the contractors and took over the stores, changing their name to Brewers Retail Inc. The stores were later renamed The Beer Store.

Along the way, Canada's beer industry changed dramatically. Governments signed trade agreements in the 1990s that removed barriers to beer sales between provinces and countries. The Beer Store began selling imported beer, which the LCBO had carried for years. For a while, competition increased.

Successive waves of consolidation – in the 1950s and 1960s, then again in the 1990s – saw ownership of the beer industry shrink to the current handful of multinationals.

The Beer Store ended up in the hands of some of the world's largest brewers. Government oversight dwindled to a handful of regulations related to public safety.

Beer prices soared.

"I can't believe we let that go on," says Chris Wilcox, general manager of Quickie Convenience Stores, based in Ottawa. "How does this province legislate two (or three) foreign-owned multinationals to run the manufacturing, distribution and the retail network for beer in this province? ... That's like telling Ford and General Motors, `You're the only two companies that can sell cars in this province.'"

Convenience store operators have long wanted to take over beer and wine sales, partly to help offset declining sales of tobacco.

Restaurant, bar and hotel owners, would love to be able to sell booze for "off-premise" consumption.

"What we question is the total lack of transparency at The Beer Store. They are not beholden to anyone. There's no real overseer," says Syd Girling, strategic issues and research manager at the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association.

But successive governments have been loath to privatize sales of booze, fearing it could lead to more crime, drunkenness, underage drinking and other public ills.

Friday, July 4, 2008

You have coped well with certain challenging developments. Hard as it is to believe now, you will soon be glad things happened exactly as they did. It has all been in aid of the big picture, which looks promising.

Maureen Bader of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation shows governments' huge chunk of the tax pie.

Soaring prices at the pump add up to a tax bonanza worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the federal government, says the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Ottawa takes in $100 million in additional GST for every 10-cent rise in the price of a litre of gas, says Maureen Bader, the federation's B.C. director.

"High gas prices are good for the federal treasury," she says.

The GST is only one of the taxes that consumers are fuming about as the summer touring season begins.

Tomorrow, B.C. introduces its controversial 2.4-cent carbon tax on gas, the first in North America.

Prices have changed dramatically since the Liberals announced it on Feb. 19.

On that date, the pump price at 41st Avenue and Oak Street in Vancouver was $1.09. Last week, it was around $1.47.

The new tax means governments will receive 40 cents from every litre sold at the benchmark $1.47 price.

Other taxes in Metro Vancouver (see chart) include 12 cents for TransLink and a 1.5-cent federal deficit-reduction tax slammed by Bader as a "tax grab."

"The deficit has been gone for 10 years," she says. "Six billion dollars has been raised from it since 1998. Given the budget surpluses, it's very irresponsible. Families are hurting and they're being gouged."

The five-per-cent GST is levied on gas taxes as well as the gas itself; for example, B.C.'s 2.4-cent carbon tax will be subject to GST, further raising the price to consumers. As gas rises above $1.47, so will GST revenue.

"There should definitely not be a tax on a tax," says Bader.

Over one year, a 40-cent increase in the price of a litre would result in $400 million extra GST for the federal government. Its extra revenue is $120 million so far this year, because the dramatic spike in prices is relatively recent.

Jock Finlayson, vice-president of the Business Council of B.C., says the GST is "a little dubious."

"It's a volume tax rather than a fixed amount," he says. "The feds could convert the GST to a fixed amount or eliminate it."

Finlayson worries that B.C. will be the only jurisdiction in North America with a carbon tax.

"If we have the tax and other jurisdictions don't, it will put industry at a competitive disadvantage," he says.

But he says the carbon tax won't have an "earth-shattering" effect on the economy.

"We are living with the cost of climate change in B.C. -- record flooding in 2007, droughts and fire storms in 2003, and an 80-per-cent loss of pines by 2013 due to the beetle infestation," he says.

"We are starting on July 1 to arrest greenhouse gases. We are taking steps to provide the next generation with the kind of world we enjoy.

"I understand people are feeling frustrated with high prices. [But] no one thinks the province of B.C. has driven up prices in the last few months."

B.C. will give back all carbon-tax revenues beginning with a two-per-cent reduction in personal and business income taxes on July 1. Low-income earners will also receive additional tax credits and all British Columbians will receive $100 cheques.

NDP Opposition Leader Carole James says poor people will be squeezed the most.

"Five dollars is a huge difference for a senior," she says. "They don't have that money at the end of the month. The tax is not revenue-neutral in your pocketbook. Costs are increased for heating, food and ferries.

"I've seen the anger building on street corners. Seniors' services are being cut because they can't afford the cost of gas. Let's tax the big polluters, like the oil and gas industry."

James says market forces, which have raised the price of gas 39 cents since Jan. 1, have already done the job the carbon tax was meant to do.

An NDP petition opposing the tax collected 3,000 signatures last week; an Ipsos-Reid poll taken June 5-10 found 60 per cent of British Columbians against the tax.

Chevron spokeswoman Deidre Reid says she is amazed at the sudden rise in oil prices.

"If somebody told me a couple of years ago crude oil would cost $140 a barrel, I wouldn't have believed it," she says.

"Metro Vancouver drivers have one of the highest provincial tax rates in the country. Only Newfoundland is higher."

amazon deals 2

Live Face On Web

CNN.com - Most Popular

Oddee -

CNN.com Recently Published/Updated

Amazon Deals

Cluster Map

Google Search

About Me

The late great comedian George Carlin once said "life's a beach"...the world is changing at an alarming rate, for some , its a life or death struggle and for others its another media event on the nightly news, like the 44th President Barack Obamas landslide win in the worst world economy since the 1929 crash. And the killing of Osama by Obama!
and in 2016 Trump 45th President Of The USA. Bush's Republican playbook.
This blog is this bloggers effort to chronicle history as its being made,I will attempt to blog the events that fall under the categories of being strange,weird,curious,mediocre and the most significant events of your life and mine. These grabbed headlines during the years of your lifetime and mine.